In a move that I have been waiting for for a long time, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders gave American doctors a tour of a Toronto, Canada, hospital. Here they were exposed to the Canadian Medicare System originally put together by the late, great Tommy C. Douglas.

The videos above include the tour itself along with information from both US and Canadian doctors. The second is an exchange that results in the tour guide from the first video, a Canadian MD, schooling a corporate-funded US politician on the merits of a Medicare-for-All System.

Medicare was first established in 1947 in the Province of Saskatchewan by the Mr. Douglas mentioned above.

He was Premier at the time.

Note: For clarity, Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, is our FEDERAL head of state, like the American President Donald Trump. A Premier is a leader of a province, like US governors.

For an in depth look at the full history of Canada’s Medicare system, click here.

I have been inundated with derogatory comments based on misinformation from a lot of Americans on social media about the nature of taxes vs free healthcare.

Under Canada’s and Bernie’s plan, taxpayers save thousands in what Americans currently pay in health care premiums. These MORE THAN OFFSET the “tax increases” Bernie Sanders is proposing with his Medicare For All Plan.

The offset is explained fairly decently here by Time Magazine. Health care in America factually costs tens of thousands of dollars per year for an individual. According to Fortune Magazine (whose figures should be taken with a grain of salt), middle income owners would pay just up $4 grand a year in tax increases.

This of course assumes that greedy corporations will reduce salaries to cover THEIR more substantial tax increase. That’s usually how it works. The middle class and poor always get screwed. Bernie has other ways of dealing with that, which I won’t get into here.

Who in the blue hell can afford that unless you’re making 6 figures? So Bernie’s Medicare Plan saves working people $11000 PER YEAR AND you get completely free health care.

Ted Cruz and the corporate media are loathe to tell you that because it costs THEM money.

And SAVES YOU MONEY. A LOT OF MONEY.

The truth of the matter is, simple math (which I’m sure Ted Cruz learned in school) will tell you that Bernie Sanders will SAVE you money OVERALL. It might be a hard concept for people unfamiliar with a single payer system to grapple with, but those are the facts. Don’t blame me.

Finally, another argument made is that the quality of health care in Canada is far inferior to America’s. That is a complete and utter lie. As illustrated in the first video, Canada has access to first rate technology, and wait times (however minimal for necessary and required procedures) are broadcast on local radio here frequently. This affords people the ability to choose the right hospital for them with the shortest wait time.

Mistakes are made in ANY system and NO SYSTEM IS PERFECT.

I have experienced a 99% success rate having had over 20 surgeries in my life. In spite of this, I have NEVER had to wait more than a few hours for a life-saving procedure. Any suggestion that is not the case is utterly false and I am living proof of that.

What Bernie Sanders is doing with respect to exposing the American people to Canadian Medicare and its success story is exactly what Americans who are struggling NEED to hear. Convincing more wealthy people to pay a LITTLE more in taxes to help look after the less fortunate is the challenge.

But isn’t that how insurance actually works? The haves ALWAYS support the have-nots. Don’t like it? Stop paying for car insurance and see how that works out for you.

In the end, Bernie Sanders is an American hero in the vein of FDR, who believed that NO American should be left behind and that America DOES NOT belong to just the wealthy and well-connected. It belongs to ALL Americans.

A SOCIAL DEMOCRACY IS NOT SOCIALISM.

Don’t believe me? Take a political science course. Education is your friend, not your enemy. The truth will set you free. AND save you a hell of a lot of money AND most importantly, save your life.